My DH and I went last summer on a very good package deal through Sceptre Tours. They have some very good deals on fly/drive as well as Dublin visits. We took Aer Lingus out of JFK, but took Delta Shuttle to JFK vs. the long layovers in Boston. I'm in the hotel industry and the package we got was better than anything I could find even with my connections.

http://www.sceptretours.com/

Another Irish person chiming in to recommend flying to Shannon if heading for the West of Ireland. Advice about the rental car is also good. If you want to avoid further foreign transaction fees, get a credit card that doesn't charge them. As far as I remember, the AerLingus website gives you plenty of notice that you be charged.

For the other PP with the 5 and 15 year old. Staying by the pool might well be the better option for you. For a five year old, there are plenty of parks, museums, the zoo, beaches, etc. near Dublin but the weather is quite likely to be cool and rainy. Get some good raingear and you can beat the rain. I'm sure there are interest-specific activities for 15 year olds as well, but I'm not quite there with my children yet.

Not to hijack, but what would you do with a 5 and 15 year old in Dublin this summer? DH has been there several times for golf and business and wants us to go with him this summer. I'm embarrassed to say that I think I'd rather stay at the neighborhood pool. I'm as bad as the teenager who doesn't want to go. Please enlighten me! I don't want to be the person who passes up chances to travel.

Regarding Shannon versus Dublin ... Being from Ireland, people always are telling me about their trips there. I can think of many instances where people have regretted not spending time/more time in Dublin.

Yes, look into flying to Shannon. Much easier to deal with the rental car and then driving. Small town vs. city type of thing.

PP here. We spent $3700 give or take - 2 adult fares, 3 children (as good as adult fare!) and 1 lap infant. BUT I used aerlingus.com and even though it is a US website and my CC was US, I got a $104 charge on my bill the following month for a "foreign fee" transaction. The site use a foreign company to process. Just a word of warning!

We are flying to Dublin this month (with four kids under 8!) -- we have not been "home" for two years so it is kind of a must for us. We decided Aer Lingus through Boston in the end. We paid about $400 extra if I recall for only a 2 hour wait in BOS. I did also have to be flexible on the dates to get the better option. United are starting to fly direct from Dulles this summer - I think it starts June 7th - have you checked that out? It seemed expensive when I looked. Another option is to drive to Philly and go US Air BUT the one time I did that, I flew across on the oldest and smallest plane -- it was awful! Thankfully I was on my own that time.
Good luck with whatever you decide and enjoy your trip!

We usually do Baltimore or Dulles for Aer Lingus. I know service changes each summer though. Also check out Philly, we have done them direct too.

Are you staying in Dublin? If you are going to the west (which county?) Shannon is most convenient for a lot of reasons. We spend most summers in County Mayo so if you give me more of a time frame and where you want to be I can give you and idea of places to go.

we flew Aer Lingus out of Baltimore a while back but I guess they stopped? I think we flew into Shannon - much closer possibly to where you are headed?

They are a very uncomfortable airline to fly, the seats are just unbelievably bad!

Continental are starting direct flights from Dulles to Dublin in June. They're a bit pricier than the Aer Lingus options but you have the advantage of much less time wasted travelling. Another option (which we're doing - travelling there in August, family of 5) is to look at the different times available on the Aer Lingus website. Initially we were looking at spending 9 hours in Boston also, but for around $40 more each, we were able to select an option with only around 2 hours waiting in Boston.

I've done the flights you mention (though only with one infant) and it really wasn't that bad. That said, United will be offering direct flights from DC beginning in June, and I saw prices as low as $965 r/t. Will you be spending much time in Dublin?

We're going to Dublin this summer, and renting a car to drive out to some small town in the west of Ireland where DH's family is from. With four kids. I get tired thinking about it.

The flights on Aer Lingus are cheapest, but they take forever because you have to fly to NYC or Boston on Jet Blue and transfer to a direct flight to Dublin. On the day we want to travel, we'd have to sit in the Boston airport for nine hours with our cranky, jet-lagged children waiting for our JetBlue flight back to DC. Seems crazy, but it's way cheaper than every other option. We could home drive faster!

Anyone taken your family to Dublin (on the cheap) recently? Any and all advice welcome. We're traveling with teens and two under 10. TIA.